Thursday, April 02, 2009

Oh Gross Me Out of My Condo, It's Yet Another Damn Early Clue to the New Direction

From 1933 -- colorized, to my chagrin -- here's the big native dance scene from King Kong. Score by the incomparable Max Steiner, which led Oscar Levant to observe, famously and almost accurately, that Kong should have been advertised as "a concert of Steiner's music with accompanying pictures."



Okay, I know it's not a rock song per se, but I mention it because the whole thing reminds me of something I saw in 1975 -- a concert by future Chariots of Fire soundtrack composer Vangelis, then hyping his solo album Heaven and Hell with a concert at the Royal Albert Hall (in case you're wondering, I was there on the record company's dime, and yes, those were indeed the days).

Anyway, the finale of the show featured, inexplicably, what seemed like a couple of hundred extras in African garb banging sticks on the stage floor, and at the time I remember thinking of the above scene. A real WTF moment, to be sure.

Bottom line: As always, a coveted PowerPop No-Prize will be awarded the first reader who gleans its relatively oblique connection to the theme of tomorrow's Listomania.

20 comments:

Gummo said...

Favorite un-PC song/album/group?

steve simels said...

Good guess, but no.
:-)

David Rasmussen said...

Fanfare?

Wendy said...

And hes up there, whats that? hawaiian noises?
Bangin on the bongoes like a chimpanzee


Songs involving monkeys?

(Okay, I know that's not it ... )

Anonymous said...

peter gabriel songs-- lol lol
hey my word verification is REGAI

ms. rosa said...

Songs featuring congas - ANY songs featuring congas.

eh, mon! my word verification is "rostma"!

Anonymous said...

ms rosa , we have a REGAI ROSTMA song going here - lol lol - with congas -- lol

Unknown said...

Best Orchestration?

Dave said...

Songs (at least in part) in a foreign language?

steve simels said...

The foreign language was a very good guess, as was Peter Gabriel songs.
:-)

But like all the rest -- no!!!!

God, I'm having fun with this one.

MBowen said...

Best drum solo?

Nah, there's no such thing

steves said...

I'll take "Best Pop Ripoff of an African Motif" for $200, Alec.

steve simels said...

Okay, what kind of hint can I give....


Ah -- the Vangelis concert. Imagine you were sitting there watching it...that's the ticket.
:-)

dSmith said...

This might be too vague but hallucinations, hallucinogens?

dSmith said...

Music that might be appropriate to accompany human sacrifice?

steve simels said...

Okay, last hint -- heh heh.

What would your reaction be to watching a rock act that reminded you of that Kong clip?

How might you describe it?

dSmith said...

Songs that induce panic?

steve simels said...


dSmith said...
Songs that induce panic?


Well, yeah, actually.

Although that's not it....
:-)

geor3ge said...

Don't know if it falls into the already nixed "un-PC" category, but perhaps songs with a faux-"native" flavor? . . . that would perhaps make an ethonomusicologist throw his hands up in despair?

geor3ge said...

And they I hit "refresh" and answered my own question. :D